Medicine Master Disciple’s Cultivation Notes

Chapter 16: The White Feather Sword That Hates Evil Like an Enemy

Li Qiuchen realized he'd overlooked a problem.

He thought he'd considered all aspects, but hadn't considered what quality standard the pearls produced in this village actually were.

Influenced by the inertia of his previous life's memories, he subconsciously felt that pearls should be round.

Non-round pearls were all defective products but after seeing the old man's dumbstruck expression, he knew that the value of this dark pearl he'd given the old man far exceeded his own estimate.

"Little brother... no, Immortal Master! Immortal Master's great kindness, please accept this old man's bow!"

The old man was so excited his face turned red. Pushing down golden mountains and toppling jade pillars, he was about to kneel and bow. Li Qiuchen hurriedly stopped him.

"Alright, alright, don't do these useless things!"

Li Qiuchen helped the old man onto a bench, signaling him not to get too excited, and asked in a lowered voice, "I grew up in the mountains and don't know the prices outside. You specialize in this business, old sir. Tell me, if this kind of pearl is taken out, how much money could it sell for?"

"That's worth a huge amount of money!"

The old man said in a trembling voice, "A dark pearl of this size is extremely rare by our little river. This one pearl alone could equal a year's tribute our village submits. If placed on the counter at a county treasure shop, at least fifty taels of silver to start, and even then there's a price but no market. If you could find ones of the same size to form a string, the price would double again!"This valuable?

Li Qiuchen was shocked. Didn't that mean, rounding up, he was now a millionaire?

Seeing Li Qiuchen's surprised expression, the old man's heart suddenly understood. He quickly leaned in and said quietly, "This old man doesn't dare take such a treasure for nothing. If the Immortal Master fancies anything in my house, please take it. If there are any other requests, although this old man is old, my sons and grandsons still have some strength and will certainly do their utmost!"

Li Qiuchen thought to himself, who can't speak nice words? If I asked for virgin boys and girls, could you provide them too?

But having already taken it out, and having said it was to repay the kindness of one meal, raising conditions at this time would make him seem lacking in character.

Moreover, sometimes when you actively raised conditions, you might not necessarily gain any benefits.

So he waved his hand as if he didn't care, "Let this matter end here. I've paid for the meal. You don't need to call me Immortal Master either. I don't have such great abilities. But old grandfather, in your village today, is anyone missing?"

Hearing this, the old man was greatly alarmed. At his age, the salt he'd eaten was more than the roads Li Qiuchen had walked. How could he not hear the implications in Li Qiuchen's words?

"This is bad! It must be that Er Laizi! That kid has been no good since childhood, eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, making friends with a bunch of scoundrels. I've always suspected he had connections with those bandits. This kid must have gone to report, right?"

"What can be done? Immortal Master..."

Seeing the old man cast an expectant gaze, Li Qiuchen quickly raised his hand, "This is your village's matter and has nothing to do with me. Yesterday's matter of inviting the Mountain Lord to the feast, the specific details are only known to you and me. When the bandits come, I only hope you won't sell me out."

"That absolutely cannot happen!"

The old man hurriedly patted his chest to guarantee, "Immortal Master, rest assured. If the bandits really ask about this, I have my own explanation and will absolutely not betray the Immortal Master!"

Li Qiuchen wasn't reassured at all but this incident could just serve as a whetstone to test this old man's character.

People aren't sages. As long as they're human, they'll make mistakes.

Whether the old man was deeply scheming, whether he bullied men and women in the village, or whether he'd done other bad things behind the scenes, Li Qiuchen didn't care about any of this. He just wanted to see whether this old man would betray him.

Only if he passed the bandits' test could Li Qiuchen temporarily feel at ease with him and continue associating with him.

Two days later, the bandits indeed came.

Li Qiuchen hid far away in the old forest, secretly observing the movement in the village.

With his current eyesight, every blade of grass and tree two li away was clearly visible. Unless the other party was also a cultivator, they shouldn't discover him from this far away.

Logically speaking... dignified cultivators shouldn't stoop to mixing with bandits' lairs, right?

But this kind of thing was also uncertain. Li Qiuchen still didn't understand this world's cultivation system settings very well and couldn't make rash conclusions.

Thirty to fifty bandits came, each riding horses, bearded and scruffy, in tattered clothes, looking like they weren't doing very well.

The bandit leader at the front had a robust build. From far away, he looked over 1.8 meters tall, tiger-backed and bear-waisted, with a full beard covering his face, carrying a large blade on his back.

The group blocked the village chief's door. After some time passed, the old man was dragged out and hung at the village entrance. A bandit walked forward with a horse whip and gave him a fierce beating, left and right.

Li Qiuchen's brows furrowed slightly.

These bandits seemed unwilling to follow jianghu rules.

You came demanding dark pearls. I gave them. You're still not satisfied... then there was only one situation. The bandits were insatiably greedy, thinking that since the old man could produce one dark pearl, he could produce more.

The old man's mouth was very hard. After being whipped dozens of times in one go until he passed out, he still didn't speak.

The bandit leader was very dissatisfied. He pulled out his two sons from the house and hung them at the village entrance to continue beating.

"Ga!"

The white crane stood beside Li Qiuchen, coldly watching the movement at the village entrance, calling out softly.

Feeling the killing intent emanating from its body, Li Qiuchen said helplessly, "Do you think the two of us can beat so many bandits?"

The white crane looked at him, raised its wing, and forcefully fanned it to the side.

A flowing light streaked past. A sharp feather steadily embedded itself in that tree ten zhang away.

Li Qiuchen was greatly shocked. I didn't expect you to be this kind of bird! I fed you with handfuls of shit and urine for so long and didn't even know you had this kind of trump card.

The white crane proudly raised its slender neck and glanced at Li Qiuchen. Its meaning seemed to say, this bird isn't vegetarian. Don't underestimate birds!

"There are thirty to fifty bandits in the village. How many feathers can you shoot?"

The white crane snorted coldly, raised its wing and beckoned lightly. That feather embedded in the tree actually flew back onto its body.

Wow! So magical!

Li Qiuchen quickly cupped his fists in praise, "I thought you could only ga ga. I didn't expect you were hiding such divine skills!"

An invisible kick came at his face.

"Ga ga!"

The white crane gestured toward the village with its mouth.

Do it or not?

It's not that I'm saying... where do you get so much sense of justice?

Li Qiuchen checked through the medicinal powders he carried with him and shook his head, "Wait a bit more. Maybe these bandits are just establishing dominance. They'll finish after a couple whips. As they say, rabbits don't eat grass near their burrow. They're fellow villagers and neighbors. There's no need to make it a fight to the death..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw a disheveled woman crawl out from the village chief's house. The surrounding bandits laughed uproariously.

A man tied at the village entrance suddenly struggled and cursed loudly. The person whipping beside him drew a knife and stabbed it straight into his chest.

Li Qiuchen fell silent.

The white crane stared at him sideways without making a sound.

"I heard their stronghold has over a hundred men. Less than half came this time."

Li Qiuchen was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "If we can't kill all these people who came, once someone escapes and the news leaks out, when the bandits come back for revenge, with just the two of us, we can't protect the villagers' safety."

"Ga!"

The white crane spread its wings.

It had many feathers.

"Eighty?"

Li Qiuchen said a number. The white crane hesitated for a long time before nodding.

The feathers it could shoot out definitely weren't eighty, but if recycled and reused, it could shoot at least eighty times.

Eighty times definitely wasn't enough.

After all, those were feathers, not flying swords.

If it were the flying sword used by that sword immortal who visited Songlin Village that day, one would be enough.

Still not reliable enough.

Li Qiuchen said seriously, "Going down to save people now definitely won't work, but if they dare enter the mountains, we can scheme properly. Are you simply trying to play hero, or do you want to leave these bandits with an unforgettable lesson?"

"Ga ga!"

When the stupid bird got serious, its brain suddenly came online, as if it knew what "the enemy is strong and we are weak" meant, what "plan for the long term" meant.

"Listen to my arrangements. I'll tell you what to do, and you do it. If you don't listen, even if you get stewed by people, I won't save you. Understood?"

"Ga!"

"Let's go. We'll set things up."

After midday, this group of bandits finally obtained the information they wanted and swarmed toward the mountains.

The road leading outside was different from the road entering the mountains.

There fundamentally wasn't a road in the mountains. Only the riverside was relatively flat, but it was all stones. Horses couldn't be led through.

The group worked hard to reach the lakeside. Looking at the calm lake surface before them, they were speechless.

"Big Boss, this is the place!"

Er Laizi, who was leading the way, pointed at the temporarily built stove by the lakeside and said hurriedly, "That old codger had people make a fire and cook here. I don't know who he asked for help..."

"Are you stupid? How the fuck could there be people in the mountains?"

Xiao Tian wiped the sweat from his head, kicked Er Laizi aside with one foot, and squinted toward the lake.

This mountain valley could produce dark pearls?

"Number Three! Take the brothers who are good swimmers down to feel around!"

At his command, a subordinate leader brought seven or eight men forward. They stripped off their clothes and shoes, and bare-assed dove underwater.

The originally calm lake water was instantly stirred up with mud and sand.

"Big Boss! There are clams!"

Very soon someone surfaced, excitedly running to Xiao Tian with a clamshell.

Xiao Tian was almost angered to death, "Why are you picking up shells for me? I want the pearls inside!"

"No, Big Boss, think about it. There are clamshells here, which means there must be live clams, right? It means we found the right place!"

Hearing his subordinate explain it this way, Xiao Tian grinned and laughed heartily, "You're right! Brothers, put in more effort! After we pull this job, our stronghold will prosper! Then we'll have wine when we want wine, meat when we want meat!"